Five reasons to get behind the MLS this season
From world-beating stars to spine-tingling atmospheres, there's plenty of reasons to get behind the MLS ahead of the season opener on Saturday (AEDT).
The MLS is gearing up for its 22nd season which kicks off on 4 March and with four consecutive years of record breaking crowds, 2017 promises to be its biggest year yet.
Crowd attendance is up 40 percent in the last decade, and with two new teams in Atlanta United and Minnesota United, the league continues to go from strength-to-strength.
Here's our five reasons to tune in this season.
1) Household names
The MLS boasts serious star power with former FIFA World Player of the Year Kaka, and FIFA World Cup winners David Villa and Andrea Pirlo, (to name a few).
It’s not just a league for world-beaters in the twilight of their careers, the average age of foreign signings for 2017 was just over 25 years-old.
2) Manic fans
The MLS ranks sixth among the world’s highest average football attendance, attracting 21,692 people per game.
Fans aren’t just turning up to fill seats, they create a sensational atmosphere with deafening chants and Tifos that put fans at some of Europe's biggest clubs to shame.
Oh and there's Portland Timbers' chainsaw wielding mascot 'Timber Joey'.
Fans get behind their team with devout fanaticism comparable to leagues in Europe. Check out the 70,000 fans who flooded the streets to give MLS Cup winner Seattle Sounders a rousing victory parade.
The MLS will be hoping to break its average attendance record for a fourth consecutive season coming into 2017.
3) Friendly timezones
Every Australian football fan knows the pain of waking up at obscene hours to watch live football, well you can roll out of bed at your own leisure to watch MLS games live between 7am and 2pm (AEDT).
4) Every game is unpredictable
The MLS is a betting man's nightmare thanks to a well-designed salary cap to ensure a healthy rotation of clubs at the top.
This year, the league announced the introduction of Targeted Allocation Money (TAM), which provides clubs with more money to keep up-and-coming talent in the league, while retaining stars who may not qualify as marquee.
TAM promises to increase the overall standard of the league by increasing the depth and balance of every squad.
5) The drama of the playoffs
Seattle Sounders stunning late charges sums it up, it wasn’t the best side by any stretch but everything clicked when it mattered and the Sounders made a stunning late charge to the MLS Cup title.
On top of the overall spectacle, the playoffs ensure healthy competition by providing more fans with the hope at glory, compared to other leagues in Europe where silverware is monopolised by the elite few.
